Esther 7:1-10
7 So the king and Haʹman+ came in to Queen Esther’s banquet.
2 The king said to Esther again on the second day during the banquet of wine: “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be granted you. And what is your request? Even to* the half of my kingdom, it will be done!”+
3 Queen Esther answered: “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life* be granted as my petition, and my people+ as my request.
4 For we have been sold,+ I and my people, to be annihilated, killed, and destroyed.+ If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. But the distress is not proper, for it will be damaging to the king.”
5 King A·has·u·eʹrus then said to Queen Esther: “Who is this, and where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said: “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haʹman.”
Haʹman became terrified because of the king and the queen.
7 The king rose up in a rage from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden, but Haʹman stood up to plead with Queen Esther for his life,* for he realized that the king was determined to punish him.
8 The king returned from the palace garden to the house of the wine banquet and saw that Haʹman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was. The king exclaimed: “Is he also going to rape the queen in my own house?” As soon as these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haʹman’s face.
9 Har·boʹna,+ one of the king’s court officials, now said: “Haʹman also prepared a stake for Morʹde·cai,+ whose report saved the king.+ It is standing at Haʹman’s house, 50 cubits* high.” At that the king said: “Hang him on it.”
10 So they hanged Haʹman on the stake that he had prepared for Morʹde·cai, and the king’s rage subsided.
